Mark and Comm Backs Sri Lanka’s National Public Relations Summit as Platinum Sponsor, reinforcing its commitment to advancing the public relations profession and strengthening collaboration between academia and industry in Sri Lanka.
Mark and Comm Backs Sri Lanka’s National Public Relations Summit as Platinum Sponsor
Mark and Comm (Pvt) Ltd, the boutique strategic communications agency recognised as Rest of South Asia PR Agency of the Year 2025 by Campaign, served as the Platinum Sponsor of the National Public Relations Summit 2026, held on June 18 and organised by the Department of Mass Communication at the University of Kelaniya.
The summit brought together academics, communication professionals, media leaders and government representatives to discuss the evolving landscape of public relations education and professional practice in Sri Lanka. The event also marked a significant milestone, celebrating ten years since the University of Kelaniya became the country’s first state university to introduce Public Relations and Media Management as an academic discipline.
As part of the summit, Mark and Comm Managing Director Thanzyl Thajudeen participated in a panel discussion following an invitation from Senior Lecturer Dr. Manoj Jinadasa, Head of the Department of Mass Communication. A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) and Chartered PR Practitioner, Thajudeen is the only senior Sri Lankan PR agency leader serving on both the PRCA APAC Board and the CIPR International Committee, while also contributing to the PRCA Education Advisory Board and Membership Committee.
His panel discussion, titled “Is PR Dead, or Did We Just Stop Defining It?”, focused on the changing role of public relations in an era increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence and digital communication.
Drawing on findings from Muck Rack’s Generative Pulse Report, Thajudeen noted that more than 80 percent of AI-generated citations now originate from earned media, while paid and advertorial content accounts for only a small fraction of references. He argued that organisations must prioritise credible journalism and authentic storytelling if they expect to remain visible in AI-driven search and information ecosystems.
“Reputation is no longer a soft metric. It is a hard asset with a price. If PR is dead, someone forgot to tell the balance sheet,” he told the audience, referencing Burson’s Global Reputation Economy report, which estimated the value of corporate reputation among publicly listed companies at more than US$7 trillion.
Throughout the discussion, Thajudeen emphasised that Public relations Sri Lanka must evolve beyond measuring success through media coverage alone. Instead, he argued that agencies should focus on strategic advisory services, reputation management and executive counsel, areas that are becoming increasingly valuable in global communications.
He also highlighted longstanding challenges facing the local communications industry, including an overemphasis on publicity metrics, limited crisis preparedness and a gap between university education and the practical skills required by today’s communications professionals.
According to Thajudeen, graduates entering the profession should be equipped not only to write press releases but also to advise senior corporate leaders, manage complex stakeholder relationships and build long-term trust with journalists.
Mark and Comm has consistently advocated for strengthening the communications ecosystem in Sri Lanka. The agency was the first in the country to establish formal engagement with PRCA APAC, organise annual industry surveys and webinars with regional communications leaders, and publish the State of Journalism Report, which was formally presented to the Ministry of Mass Media last year.
Speaking on the relationship between journalism and public relations, Thajudeen stressed that the industry has a responsibility to support the media organisations upon which credible public relations depends.
“There is no PR without journalism,” he said, urging agencies to move beyond simply pitching stories and instead advocate for the sustainability of the country’s media ecosystem.
The agency concluded the summit by highlighting several priorities for the future of the profession. These included the growing importance of earned media in AI-powered information discovery, the need for strategic counsel over publicity, stronger collaboration between universities and industry, improved support for journalism, and more meaningful measurement frameworks focused on business outcomes rather than media clipping volumes.
By supporting the National Public Relations Summit 2026, Mark and Comm Backs Sri Lanka’s National Public Relations Summit as Platinum Sponsor while reinforcing its long-term commitment to raising professional standards, encouraging industry-academic collaboration and helping shape the future of Public relations Sri Lanka.